Social capital, employment, and health: Examining area factors in England

This dissertation explores area-level and individual factors (deprivation and social capital) related to health inequalities among adults in England, using the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). Chapter 2 examines the relationships between employment states and transitions and physical health, with area deprivation as a potential moderator, using 9 years (2009-2020) of UKHLS data (Waves 1-10). Fixed effects model show improved physical health was associated to unemployment transitions in the second least employment-deprived areas. Retirement transition was associated with deteriorating physical health, though the association was less severe in the second least income-deprived areas than in the least income-deprived areas. Chapter 3 investigates the associations between area deprivation and physical health and examined the potential mediating role of area social capital. Employing three-level analyses with 9-year data (2011-2019, Waves 3, 6, and 9), the findings indicate that area deprivation and area civic engagement were associated with physical health. The mediating role of area civic engagement in the main associations were not definitive. Chapter 4 investigates the associations between social capital and mental health at individual and area-level, applying autoregressive cross-lagged models. The analytic sample was mainly drawn from Waves 3, 6, 9, and 12 (2011-2022), except for the trust and cooperative norms model, which used Waves 3 and 6 (2011-2014). Area characteristics and individual traits, including mental health, civic engagement, friendship network homogeneity, and trust and cooperative norms, were correlated. Furthermore, a reciprocal, though not consistently significant, relationship between friendship network homogeneity and mental health. The reciprocal relationships between trust and cooperative norms and mental health were found. Policymakers may consider employment support for retirees in the least income-deprived areas and could collaborate with bodies to improve civic engagement in LADs. Interventions, such as extending infrastructure (e.g., parks), to strengthen local social capital are suggested as they may increase social capital.